God will side with the Cardinal's cousin - or not

The publication of the extraordinary and courageous letter to Cardinal Pell from his cousin is surely an indication of how much times have changed and indeed are changing yet ("Cry from the heart by a cardinal's cousin", "Why the letter of Vatican law causes so much pain", Herald, January 12).

The Cardinal's cousin focuses on the unhealthy preoccupation of the institutional Catholic Church with the mechanics of sex. The Cardinal's confidence in his assertion that "the Church's views are well known and will not change" will eventually be found to be misplaced, probably within his own lifetime.

Meanwhile there are many real evils afoot in the world that the professional celibates in the Vatican might more profitably rail against, rather than their invented "evil" of two people loving each other and expressing that love naturally in physical intimacy.

Robert McKenna, Elizabeth Bay, January 12.

Cardinal Pell's distant cousin wishes to make Christianity what it is not. In line with Monica's life view I demand that cricket now be played with an oval ball, a baseball bat, goalposts and 17 players on each side. My team must also be allowed to make up the rules as we go along.

To keep me happy, I also insist that we must still call the game cricket. This despite the fact that countless others still want to and do play cricket according to the old legalistic doctrine with 11 players a side, and leather on willow.

God broadly gives us the liberty to do what we like, but not the freedom to change His word.

Robert Draffan, Yass, January 12.

Perhaps, Cardinal Pell, you will also "continue to regret" the death of my friend, a 19-year-old gay man, who committed suicide because he could not reconcile his homosexuality with his Catholic faith. As far as I'm concerned, his blood is on the Vatican's hands.

It need not be this way in the future; for acceptance and love would have kept my friend alive. Until the Vatican accepts and affirms same-sex love relationships, such tragedies will continue to occur.

Gretchen Riordan, Pennant Hills, January 12.

Monica Hingston accuses the church of arrogance in its dealings with homosexuals. However, it is the homosexual community which now arrogantly demands that the Catholic Church abolish 2000 years of teachings on marriage and the family to sanction behaviour that was, until recently, considered disordered by the medical community.

No longer content with mere tolerance, it is clear that homosexuals now expect society at large to both condone and promote their lifestyle, regardless of the long-term social, medical and economic implications of such an action.

Hingston's emotive plea, based entirely on the love she and her partner feel for each other, wholly ignores the various ethical and moral complexities that surround this issue.

If love between people is the only criteria for recognition as a relationship, then both incest and polygamy can be justified on exactly the same grounds - or is the Church arrogant for not permitting these activities too? The duty of the Catholic Church and its leaders, Ms Hingston, is to teach what is right - not what is popular.

Nigel Freitas, Roseville, January 12.

I found it unusual that Monica, the second cousin of Cardinal Pell, saw fit to publish her private letter to him.

This is due to the fact that Monica herself acknowledges that the Catholic Church is the custodian of God's law. Further, that it is the duty of Cardinal Pell to defend this deposit of faith handed down to him.

God's law is laid down by God, not by man or woman. We are free to choose to obey or to disobey.

It would seem that obedience to God's law is the one thing that Monica is struggling to come to terms with. It is a struggle we all must face.

Bryan Michael Doyle, Ambarvale, January 12.

Protocol or not, the point is to act now

This is a bit like the argument of would-be vegetarians: if everyone else stops eating meat then I will, too ("Greenhouse gas scheme gets the axe", Herald, January 12). Surely the issue is not whether the Kyoto protocol is likely to come into effect, but the necessity to do all we can, without or without some protocol, to protect and preserve our environment. Moreover, why do we need to create commercially oriented incentive schemes to motivate businesses into introducing pollution-reduction measures? Change the laws and fine defaulters.

Fred Jansohn, Rose Bay, January 12.

David Kemp tells us there is no use venturing any further down the Kyoto path as it is clouded with uncertainty.

The only hole growing faster than the one directly above this continent seems to the one growing in this Government's credibility.

David Gunter, Glebe, January 12.

The Federal Government's decision to pull the
plug on the greenhouse emission program has sold us all down the carbon sink.

No need now to waste time talking about intergenerational equity - our grandchildren will have to spend every cent on salvaging their polluted, depleted world.

Lesa de Leau, Brighton-le-Sands, January 12.

A timely choice of play to open a great theatre

Congratulations to our Sydney Theatre Company on its sassy new digs, but most of all on the courage of its choice of Katherine Thomson's brilliant new play Harbour for the opening of the site ("Playhouse takes the starring role", Herald, January 12).

It is heartening to see a work of such deep social and political relevance by a local writer - and a woman at that - take the stage at a time when so much controversial contemporary history seems to have been buried in the bottom of the harbour, and our gaze directed elsewhere. My deepest thanks to all involved.

Susan Anthony, Waterloo, January 12.

The Opera House is a wonderful building but access for some seniors is quite formidable; even more so now when no taxis or buses are allowed on to the concourse.

Over the weekend the Sydney Theatre was opened. The reviews were ecstatic, and yes, it is an attractive building, but certainly not user-friendly for older people. Parking is difficult and there are many steps to climb - quite a deterrent to people with any physical disabilities or those running out of energy.

Seniors have been and are very big patrons and supporters of the arts. Is there an easier way of them attending, without so many hurdles?

Helene Gonski, Darling Point, January 12.

Pub logic might backfire

What upright and responsible citizens are those represented by the Australian Hoteliers Association ("Surf clubs in fight for alcohol rights", Herald, January 12). In opposing moves to give lifesaving clubs greater licence to sell alcohol, their principal concern is for the health and safety of the average Australian. It is their sincere belief that drinking and surf do not mix. No self-interest here.

There are many hotels 100 metres from popular swimming spots. I anticipate an imminent application by the AHA to have the licences of these irresponsible hoteliers revoked.

J. Raftery, Caringbah, January 12.

Hardly Costello's fault

Occasionally, nasty letters beg rebuttal. Richard Paulin's whinge about the prime ministerial aspirations of Peter Costello (Letters, January 12) was such an example.

First, state governments have allowed the proliferation of poker machines. The federal Treasurer can bemoan all he likes, but I don't think Mr Egan is listening.

Second, the day the Federal Government starts interfering with publicly listed companies by enforcing capped CEO salaries is the day we become a communist nation.

And to say that Mr Costello "doesn't have the ticker" to become PM and "he knows it" implies that Mr Paulin can read his mind. With such extraordinary perception maybe Mr Paulin should run for PM.

Stephen Iacono, Sefton, January 12.

Explosion calls for action

Now that a court has been told that WMDs can be manufactured in Blacktown by a 28-year-old using materials bought from hardware shops and detonated on Commonwealth land, will Mr Howard order a pre-emptive strike on all of the above ("Bomb chemicals recalled Oklahoma City blast, court told", Herald, January 12)?

Steve Goldberg, Dulwich Hill, January 12.

I might have missed them but I don't recall any media reports concerning the ethnic origins of the person charged in connection with the Doonside car explosion. It may well be possible that he is blessed with a level of "mainstreamness" that renders his alleged actions less alarming and therefore his ethnicity less significant.

Shane Joseph, Lane Cove, January 12.

True root of terrorism

Thomas Friedman is again distorting the reality and root cause of terrorism ("Our open society is in danger in this new world war of terror", Herald, January 12). September 11 was a retaliatory, but utterly condemnable, act by desperate and frustrated young Arabs who were angry with the foreign policies of the US and its 55 years of support to Israel's occupation, violations of international law, oppression, and dispossession of the Palestinian people from their homeland only because they are not Jews.

It is lunacy to suggest that Muslims and Arabs hate the West. What they hate is the West's colonialism and racism. They hate the West's conspiracies against them from Sykes-Picot to the Balfour Declaration. What they hate is the West's hypocrisy and double-standard which claims civilisation, democracy and high moral values of respect of freedom and international law while not only closing their eyes but giving support to Israel's breach of all these principles.

Mr Friedman avoided mentioning that the main solution to solving terrorism is to deal with its root cause, and that is for the US and other Western governments to put an end to their double standard and review their Middle East foreign policies.

Ali Kazak, Head of the Palestinian delegation to Australia, Narrabundah (ACT), January 12.

Welcome these doctors

Why the fuss about overseas doctors coming in to assist us in managing our health-care system? Overseas nurses have been coming in for decades and more recently in greater numbers.

Tradespeople from other countries have been coming to our shores for decades, contributing to our economy and our wealth of knowledge in so many areas. Where is the difference?

Certainly, our health system needs a radical overhaul, which includes reviewing the cost of inappropriate interventions in a country where we are still treating those who are disabled physically, developmentally or mentally as second-rate citizens and increasingly making health care out of reach for the individuals and groups who need it most.

Let's embrace those who arrive on our shores to assist us in times of need. More importantly, let's look at the internal politics which cause such inequities to occur in our country.

Unit owners left out

Maynard Gill (Letters, January 12) argues that unit owners can pass by-laws restricting noise and inconvenience. That is the line also taken by the supposed regulator, the Department of Fair Trading, and it is a disingenuous cop-out.

The plain fact is that many bodies corporate are now controlled by investors rather than resident owners, and they sanction whatever they feel will enhance their profit. That includes using accumulated cash in sinking funds on unnecessary "improvements" in common areas. That in turn leads to rocketing levies.

In most unit blocks there is also no requirement for competitive tenders, so that the potential for corruption is increased. The interests of owners who call their units home have effectively been shoved aside.

Dr Allan M. Healy, Wollongong, January 12.

Hire your own ferry

So the State Government has scrapped the school ferry run from Mosman and Cremorne to Rose Bay, inconveniencing students whose parents choose to send them to private schools in the eastern suburbs ("School ferry run dumped due to cost", Herald, January 12).

How many more such services are being dedicated to the transport of private school students across suburbs at the cost of the public purse? The blowout in the school student transport scheme is precisely because of situations like this.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with the parents funding their educational choices by hiring the ferry themselves.

Vicki Scott, Narara, January 12.

Oh, for a cricket-free radio broadcast

No matter the hour, day and night on radio you cannot avoid the excruciatingly boring cricket details relentlessly proffered by gravel-voiced commentators.

Won't some inventor come up with a cricket filter, switching the radio into a restful silence mode for the relevant period? One would think the entire population was cricket mesmerised, whereas it is a tragic minority.

Moore's here already

Tony Cobcroft (Letters, January 10-11) cries out for an Australian Michael Moore, a probing journalist with endless integrity. Has he never watched an episode of Frontline?

Craig Moore, Annandale, January 12.

Missing: WMD letters

It's not just letters from Cammeray that have been rare of late (Letters, January 12). Letters from those proclaiming the definite existence of WMDs in Iraq haven't made it to print, either.

Mick Stojcevski, Port Kembla, January 12.

True Aussie colours

Does it appear incongruent to anybody else that at our major sporting events, in a sea of green and gold, our national flag remains red, white and blue? I also note that the uniforms worn by our sports people proudly display our national crest and the Southern Cross but not the British flag. If sporting bodies and the ALP are able to dispense with this colonial hangover, why can't we?

Jeff Goddard, St Georges Basin, January 12.

Threats to businesses

Hugh Morgan and the Business Council of Australia are right about the threat the Senate poses to business in Australia ("Senate 'not good' for business", Herald, January 12).

And while we're getting rid of the Senate, let's get rid of the courts, the law, consumer organisations and anything else that restricts the right of our businessmen to do what they like. Are we fair dinkum about encouraging capitalism in this country or not?

John Sparkman, Curtin (ACT), January 12.

No fly on the wall

Has anyone noticed that these you beaut modern homes frequently featured in the Domain section have no flyscreens on their glass doors leading onto fabulous terraces? Why aren't these houses invaded by flies, mosquitoes, moths, beetles, etc?

Perhaps only ordinary mortals suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous summer pests.

Robert Berry, Taree, January 12.

Off with The Bill

Why can't the cast of The Bill go on holidays permanently (Letters, January 12) and be replaced by Dalziel and Pascoe, Inspector Morse and Special Branch?

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